Team, We had a young girl join our campus with her mom this week. We taught her how to squat. We taught her how to do a push-up. And then, sitting together in the sauna after class, we talked about the future of health, education, AI, and human connection. In many ways, yesterday evening captured exactly what we’re trying to build. Every class begins with education. We set goals. We teach members why they’re training - not simply what to do. They learn how different exercises, loads, and rep schemes produce different adaptations: strength, endurance, hypertrophy, power. We warm up through movement and plyometrics. We teach technique. We build strength and conditioning around mastery rather than mindless repetition. Teaching a young girl how to perform a great push-up - instead of allowing her to dread push-ups for the rest of her life - is a small example of a much bigger principle: Mental and physical fitness are matters of education. Next class, she’ll learn about nasal breathing, using breath to regulate stress, and how conditioning actually works. As she progresses through Physiology First, she’ll have access to data analysis, personalized nutrition, optimized sleep, and ultimately a personalized health plan that rivals anything available on the market. But after this week’s workout, everyone simply walked outside to the sauna. The fire was glowing. The autumn air was strangely warm for October in England. Teens and parents piled in, and as eucalyptus-scented water hit the rocks, the conversation turned to the future... AI. The changing economic landscape for teenagers. Human skills versus machine tasks. Whether anxious adults are contributing to youth anxiety. The disappearance of third spaces. The importance of unfiltered conversation, community, and human connection. Her mom wrote afterward to say how much she enjoyed her first class. They’ll be back Wednesday - with her sister. They signed up for a monthly membership eagerly - and there are no shortage of health conscious families in your community seeking a new market standard.

Hey all just wanted to share that after a year of bringing the physiology first approach to work with some students in my current school, they have asked me to lead the whole school in a breath session every Monday before we start the week. I, along with another teacher have also been instrumental in replacing the unhealthy snack options to healthy whole food options. This work works and it matters. Whenever you are on your PF journey… keep going!!

Team, In 2027 Physiology First is partnering with the world's best gyms to build the future of proactive, personalized, community health. If there's a gym in your community that wants to evolve please pass this simple quiz along. The more physical hubs for our programs that we can create the more our Fellowship members across the globe have working facilities to serve teens, families, and community members with personalized health services from Physiology First. The average gym won't survive the combination of AI and luxury wellness - there are extremely well funded competitors coming to town who are cutthroat, business savvy, and ready to play chess while the gym industry plays checkers. The gyms that survive are the ones that EVOLVE. I'm extremely honored to be kicking off the 2027 Evolution of Health tour with two of our incredible Fellowship members @Kari Quimby and Erika in N.Carolina in January. U.S team members - please join us if you can! Jan 9th and 10th near Raleigh N.C are tentatively scheduled and will be confirmed this week. Next stops? Sweden? Australia? Guatemala? Let's see what we can set up between Fellowship members to make 2027 a year of global impact. I appreciate you passing along this Beyond the Gym quiz to your favorite local gym owner and helping to get our programs for teens, families, women's health, and athletes into more communities than ever in 2027! It's time to go beyond the gym and into the future of personalized health and human potential. David https://beyond-the-gym.replit.app/

Big thanks to @David Bidler for the warm welcome. I'm finally back in Lisbon after a European road trip (September off after a decade in schools was pretty cool) and excited to join such an inspiring community. Where I'm at: I left full-time teaching in July to focus on the health side of young people's wellbeing, which schools rarely have room for. So, I'm early into this journey - just beginning the Level 1 PD program and excited to get to grips with the science behind the PF principles so I can share this. As an ultrarunner and ocean swimmer, I'm also keen to see how it shows up in my own training, especially nasal breathing (looking to you @Darren Bailey), HRV and VO2 max. What I can bring: A strong network of kids and families in Lisbon. New international schools keep popping up to meet the demand of families relocating here from all over the world, but they all offer the same thing: academics first, physiology neglected. Loads of potential in that gap. - Having taught at two of these schools, I'm hoping to use my network to get back into them in a different role: leading PF workshops to shift the culture @Joel Thulin inspired by how you have managed this! Where I'm heading: I'm also beginning my training as a coach - want to work especially with pre-teen and teen girls on grit, resilience and knowing their bodies. Keen to see how Level 1 shapes this niche. @David Bidler , also excited to continue our conversations around the possibility of a retreat for teens here in Portugal. And for Beyond the Gym initiative, I think I've found a great option: community-based, teen program, holistic, whole-family focus. Check out their mission below. I've got a warm intro to the owner so will work on this next week!

Checking in after the live training call - I did 3 more sets of the single leg bridges with the sock under my arch and I'm definitely feeling it more in my glutes. I noticed that my left glute feels quite a bit weaker than my right glute which I'm sure played a role in my left hamstring injury a couple of months ago. I had injured it after doing a set of heavy RDLs earlier in the day. I'm assuming my left hamstring must have had to compensate for my weaker left glute when doing the RDLs. I'm loving this version of the single leg bridge to really isolate and focus in on my left glute strength. Thanks for today David!